Lagos community laments as two kids go missing (Punch)
All is not well yet at Otto and Itumara in Ebute-Meta, Lagos State as two four-year-old children, Lukman Badamosi, and Rosemary Onyema, disappeared, reportedly bringing the number of missing kids in the community to nine in one year.
Badamosi allegedly went missing on August 4, while returning from an Arabic class and Rosemary was playing around the passage of her parents’ rented apartment on Church Street, when she was abducted around 6.30pm on August 19.
This is just as residents met with the police at Area C Police Command, Iponri, covering the area to find an end to the menace.
Our correspondent had reported on June 6 that five kids had been allegedly abducted in the neighbourhood since the first case was recorded on June 19, 2019. Read more
Helicopter crash: I’ve been barred from my house, says 77-year-old landlady (Punch)
Mrs Oluwayemisi Oluwole, the landlady of one the two buildings affected by the ill-fated Bell 206 that crashed on Salvation Road, Opebi, Ikeja, Lagos State, has said she has been barred from sleeping in her house due to the impact of the crash.
The 77-year-old woman spoke on Saturday when the state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, visited the scene of the crash.
The helicopter, which took off from Port Harcourt, Rivers State, crashed into the fence in-between the two houses at 16A, Salvation Road, about two minutes to land at Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja. Read more
Sanwo-Olu visits helicopter crash scene, promises to renovate affected structures (ThisDay)
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-olu on Saturday visited the site of the helicopter crash at Salvation Road in Opebi area of the state 24 hours after the incident to assess the damage of the crash and promised to renovate the affected buildings after the impact assessment is done.
Speaking to journalists after looking round the crash site and meeting with owners of the affected buildings, the governor promised that the Lagos State Government would carry out integrity tests on the buildings and do necessary repairs by way of assisting the affected families.
A Bell 206 Helicopter, belonging to Quorum Aviation, was traveling in from Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital with two crew and a passenger before it crashed in between two residential buildings in the Opebi area of Lagos at mid-day on Friday. Read more
Court orders ATBU to reinstate, pay damages to student illegally expelled 7 years after (Guardian)
The Court of Appeal, Jos Division, has ordered Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi to reinstate and pay N1.1million damage to a Masters degree student of the school that was illegally expelled over accusation of examination malpractice.
The Plaintiff, Victor Alom Oboh, had filed a suit against the university in 2013 at the Federal High Court in Bauchi challenging his expulsion by the management. After scrutiny, the presiding Judge, Justice Shittu Abubakar had on May 17, 2018 ruled that the expulsion of the plaintiff “is hereby voided and nullified. The defendant is hereby ordered to pay a sum of N1,000,000 as general damages.”
He also ordered that Victor be re-instated to continue his study with immediate effect. Read more
Yola hospital separates Bayelsa Siamese twins (Nation)
The Federal Medical Centre, Yola, has successfully separated a set of Siamese twins. The set, both girls, now eight months old, looked vibrant in the hands of their mother as she fielded questions from newsmen on Saturday. The twins had been flown by the Nigeria Air Force to Yola in January from the Bayelsa State capital, Yenagoa, when they were only a couple of weeks old and joined around the abdomen, but the surgery to remove them was delayed due to COVID-19 exigencies.
The Medical Director of the FMC Yola, Prof. Auwal Abubakar, who spoke to newsmen on Saturday during a farewell for the twins and their parents, said the surgery which separated them was finally done on the 10th of this month. Explaining the circumstances, he said, “We were getting set to do the surgery when COVID-19 came. It was a new disease and we were learning to cope with it. Many services at the hospital were suspended and even to get certain consumables was difficult. Read more
Attah Igala will be greatly missed – Kogi govt (Vanguard)
Kogi State Government on Saturday has condoled with the family of His Royal Majesty, Dr. Michael Idakwo Ameh Oboni II who joined his ancestor on August 27, 2020.
In a statement, signed by the Honourable Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Fanwo the State Government announced the death of the paramount ruler while extolling the exemplary lifestyles of the departed Attah during his lifetime. The statement reads thus; “It is with absolute submission to the divine will that The Kogi State Government announces that the Chairman of the Kogi State Council of Traditional Rulers and the Attah of Igala, His Royal Majesty, Michael Idakwo Ameh Oboni II has passed on to the great beyond. In line with royal Igala tradition, the Palace has made it known that the Royal Father joined his ancestors on August 27, 2020.” Read more
Lawmaker awards scholarship to Imo triplets (Nation)
The immediate past deputy speaker of the Imo State House of Assembly, who is also the member representing Mbaitoli state constituency, Okey Onyekanma, has awarded scholarship to the triplets who were born premature after their mother, Nkechi Ezenwa, 20, a banana hawker was raped.
Onyekanma, who spoke while commissioning a two-bedroom bungalow built for the triplets at Ubomiri by a journalist, Chidiebube Okeoma and his team of Facebook influencers, said that he would take care of the academics of the children up to university level.
According to him, the children would continue to enjoy the scholarship even if he leaves government, adding that with quality education, the triplets would be great in life. Read more
Southern Kaduna killings: Followers urge pastors to buy guns with tithe money (Vanguard)
Pastor of Vision pioneer Throneroom (Trust) Ministry Kafanchan, Apostle Dr Emmanuel Nuhu Kure has said that as a priest, people now come to him, asking him to buy arms for them.
“They are calling on their Pastors to take part of the offerings and buy arms for them to defend themselves. That is the level of despair. People are no longer afraid,” he said.
He asked the Federal Government to arrest the senseless bloodshed going on in Southern Kaduna before it leads to revolution. Read more
After one year closure, Enugu Airport reopens today (Guardian)
Exactly one year and six days after it was closed for expansion and rehabilitation, the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu would be reopen today for local and international flights.
Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika said, yesterday, shortly after a private jet 5N–PAZ landed at the airport, stating all was set for the reopening of the airport.
Sirika, accompanied by Billionaire Anambra Businessman, Chief Arthur Eze, Publisher of Daily Times, Fidelis Anosike among others, told journalists after a tour of rebranded runway, that he was grateful that the work could be realised with the approved funds and at the targeted time frame. Read more
Uproar in France after magazine depicts Black MP as chained slave (Aljazeera)
A French far-right magazine’s drawing of Black lawmaker Danielle Obono as a slave with chains around her neck has triggered an uproar, prompting anti-racism campaigners to consider legal moves to counter rising hate speech in the country.
In a Twitter post, Obono blasted the illustration in the latest issue of the Valeurs Actuelles publication as “racist s***” and described the country’s extreme right as “odious, stupid and cruel”.
The legislator from the far-left France Unbowed party later told the BFM broadcaster that, “I hurt for my republic, I hurt for my France” and called the depiction a political attack on her and others who fight against “the racism, stigmatisation that millions of our compatriots are subjected to”. Read more
Shock, grief and gratitude after death of actor Chadwick Boseman (CBC)
First Chadwick Boseman slipped on the cleats of Jackie Robinson, then the Godfather of Soul’s dancing shoes, portraying both Black American icons with a searing intensity that commanded respect. When the former playwright suited up as Black Panther, he brought cool intellectual gravitas to the Marvel superhero whose “Wakanda forever!” salute reverberated worldwide.
As his Hollywood career boomed, though, Boseman was privately undergoing “countless surgeries and chemotherapy” to battle colon cancer, his family said in a statement announcing his death at age 43 on Friday. He’d been diagnosed at Stage 3 in 2016 but never spoke publicly about it. Read more
Chadwick Boseman: Obama, Harris, Biden lead tributes (Aljazeera)
Former President Barack Obama has paid tribute to actor Chadwick Boseman, who portrayed Black American icons Jackie Robinson and James Brown before launching to a new level of fame as the lead in the Black Panther superhero franchise, one of the few films in the Marvel universe to feature a predominantly Black cast.
Boseman died on Friday at the age of 43 after a four-year battle with colon cancer.
“Chadwick came to the White House to work with kids when he was playing Jackie Robinson. You could tell right away that he was blessed,” Obama wrote on Twitter, referring to the first Black American professional baseball player who Boseman portrayed in the film “42”. Read more
Germany coronavirus: Hundreds arrested in German ‘anti-corona’ protests (BBC)
Police in Berlin have arrested 300 demonstrators during protests against Germany’s coronavirus restrictions.
Some 38,000 people took to the streets in the city for mostly peaceful demonstrations.
About 200 people were arrested at one rally, which the authorities blamed on right-wing agitators who were said to have thrown rocks and bottles.
Similar rallies took places in other European cities with some demonstrators calling the virus a hoax. Read more
Italy sends help to Banksy’s overloaded migrant rescue boat (CBC)
The Italian coast guard sent help on Saturday to a rescue boat funded by British street artist Banksy after the vessel issued urgent calls for assistance, saying it was stranded in the Mediterranean and overloaded with migrants.
The coast guard said a patrol boat dispatched from the southern Italian island of Lampedusa had taken on board 49 of “those considered most vulnerable” among the 219 migrants picked up by the ship since Thursday off the coast of Libya.
Named after a 19th-century French feminist anarchist, the MV Louise Michel started operating last week. Despite the help from Italy, it has still not found a safe port for the rest of the mainly African migrants on board. Read more
Belarus expels journalists, withdraws accreditation in crackdown (Aljazeera)
Authorities in Belarus have deported some foreign journalists reporting in the country and withdrawn the accreditation of many Belarusian reporters covering large anti-government protests that erupted after a disputed presidential election earlier this month.
Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets in recent weeks, rejecting President Alexander Lukashenko’s landslide victory in the August 9 vote, which his opponents say was rigged. Several people have been killed and hundreds more wounded during a violent police crackdown, with thousands of protesters detained.
Ahead of another protest planned for Sunday, the Belarusian Association of Journalists said at least 17 journalists were stripped of their accreditation, which are issued by the foreign ministry. Read more
Black Lives Matter: US teen billed for police overtime after protest (BBC)
A teenager who organised a peaceful Black Lives Matter rally in the US state of New Jersey was asked to pay nearly $2,500 (£1,900) in police overtime costs, US media report.
Emily Gil, 18, said she organised the action to support US anti-racism protests and highlight issues with affordable housing in her community.
But she was shocked to later receive a bill from the local mayor.
The mayor told BBC partner CBS that he was now rescinding the charges. Read more
Ugbade recalls rapturous reception after U17 world cup glory (Vanguard)
Former U16 World Cup-winning captain and U17 assistant coach Nduka Ugbade has described the reception the tournament winners received back home in Nigeria.
Asked during an interview with Vanguard Sports about the reception at the Murtala Mohammed Internation Airport for the victorious Nigerians, he responded saying:
“The reception was second to none. I doubt if there is going to be anything near that in the near future. I am only waiting for that maybe when Nigeria wins two trophies. Not the AFCON or U17 World Cup may be the biggest one, the senior World Cup that I expect to see such crowd and such followership from the airport to Broad Street, where we were received. Read more
Tour de France 2020: Alexander Kristoff wins stage one (BBC)
Alexander Kristoff timed his sprint finish to perfection to win the opening stage of the Tour de France in Nice.
After a large group crashed inside the final 3km, Norwegian Kristoff, 33, surged home in a sprint also involving Ireland’s Sam Bennett, who was fourth.
Rain made the roads treacherous and led to several crashes, with Pavel Sivakov of Team Ineos twice coming off.
Ineos’ defending champion Egan Bernal largely avoided the trouble and finished safely in the peloton. Read more
Anna Nordqvist shoots 62 to take a 3-shot lead in Arkansas (CBC)
Anna Nordqvist shot a 9-under 62 on Saturday to take a three-stroke lead over Sei Young Kim into the final round of the LPGA Tour’s Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.
Tied for the first-round lead after a 64, Nordqvist hit all 18 greens in regulation at Pinnacle Country Club in her second straight bogey-free round.
“I played really solid both today and yesterday,” Nordqvist said. “Got off to a great start. Had a lot of good opportunities. Made a few putts early and just kept going. Felt like I hit my irons really well.” Read more
Arsenal beat Liverpool on penalties to win Community Shield (BBC)
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored a superb goal and netted the winning penalty in a shootout as Arsenal beat Premier League champions Liverpool in the Community Shield at an empty Wembley Stadium.
Liverpool striker Rhian Brewster, brought on in stoppage time, hit the crossbar with his penalty – the only one not converted in the shootout.
Aubameyang’s curling strike gave FA Cup winners Arsenal the lead in the first half before Liverpool substitute Takumi Minamino equalised after the break.
Minamino’s flicked pass to Mohamed Salah bounced back kindly for him to slot home from close range. Read more
Bayern’s Lewandowski says he deserves Ballon d’Or after stellar season (Vanguard)
Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski believes he would deserve the Ballon d’Or if the award had not been cancelled for 2020.
France Football confirmed in July that the prize would not be awarded due to the disruption of the 2019-20 season caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Lewandowski would almost certainly have been one of the favourites for the men’s trophy this year, having scored 55 goals in all competitions to propel Bayern to a treble of Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Champions League titles for the second time. Read more
Donny van de Beek: Manchester United interested in Ajax midfielder (BBC)
Manchester United are interested in Ajax’s Netherlands midfielder Donny van de Beek.
The 23-year-old was left out of the Ajax squad for Saturday’s friendly against Eintracht Frankfurt.
Coach Erik ten Hag said “developments” regarding his future had kept him out of the game.
Van de Beek, who has been capped 10 times by the Netherlands, was a key part of the Ajax side that reached the 2018-19 Champions League semi-final.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have yet to make a signing in the transfer window but could face competition from Barcelona, who have been heavily linked with Van de Beek having signed his former Ajax team-mate Frenkie de Jong last summer. Read more